Browse Case Studies

Alaric Ong is a serial entrepreneur who has built five businesses, three of which generated six figures with zero capital and one that reached seven figures in 16 months. He currently runs the largest Facebook Marketing Community in Singapore with over 1,400+ paid students, and has gained media recognition by interviewing high-profile entrepreneurs on Fox, MarketWatch, and Digital Journal.

Joe Pulizzi built Content Marketing Institute into a dominant player in content marketing education through a multi-revenue model centered on large-scale events. Content Marketing World, their flagship conference, generates approximately 70% of revenue through paid registrations ($1,100 average yield per person) and sponsorships, with the 2016 event projected to bring in $9.25-$9.5M in total revenue and $2.5M in profit.

Elliot Hulse built Strength Camp from the back of his car while drowning in $90,000 of credit card debt (2007-2010), transforming it into a seven-figure business with 1.3+ million YouTube subscribers and 300,000+ email subscribers. His business model combines free content marketing via YouTube with a customer ascension ladder selling ebooks, programs, workshops, and high-ticket conferences like the Non-Jobs Summit ($297-$397 per ticket). Revenue peaked at $80,000+ per month through strategic content repurposing and email conversion optimization.

FinCon is an annual conference founded in 2011 by CPA and personal finance expert Philip Taylor that brings together the world's top personal finance content creators and influencers. By 2015, the event had grown to 900 attendees generating over $500K in revenue ($220K from ticket sales and $220K from sponsorships) with $200K in profit, after initially losing money for the first few years. The key to profitability came from treating it as a full business rather than a side project, introducing VIP ticket tiers, and restructuring sponsorship offerings to highlight attendee reach and influence.

Michael Port is an author and public speaking expert who built Heroic Public Speaking into a successful training business offering crash courses ($1,000), annual events in Fort Lauderdale, and a 4-month graduate program in Philadelphia. His first book, Book Yourself Solid (2006), sold approximately 500,000 copies primarily through email marketing to his network, establishing him as a thought leader whose subsequent books and courses have generated significant ongoing revenue.

Mastermind Talks is an exclusive invite-only event for entrepreneurs founded by Jason Gaynard, building on his experience hosting mastermind dinners in Toronto. Starting with 4,200 applicants for 150 spots at $995, the event grew to $6,000 per ticket by maintaining intimacy and quality, with recent events generating approximately $800K-$900K in revenue from attendees alone. The business was built entirely through relationship-based networking and strategic speaker partnerships, with no paid marketing.

The Brotherhood is a premium, invite-only private business club founded by Sean Gallagher for curated successful entrepreneurs of high character. Starting from a casual 30-person Facebook group in Mexico, it evolved into a paid membership community offering exclusive access to rare entrepreneurs, vulnerability-focused mastermind conversations, and high-end adventure experiences like yacht trips to remote islands. The community maintains strict quality standards, having removed over 100 members who didn't meet integrity criteria, and is expanding with a planned 'Sisterhood' for women entrepreneurs.

Tai Lopez built a personal brand empire offering the 67 Steps and Knowledge Society programs to teach decision-making and lifestyle optimization. Starting with a free beta to thousands of users, he tested at $4.95, then scaled to $67/month through his PVP formula (Plan/Strategy, Virality, Paid advertising), reaching 500 million views in six months with 70% penetration among his target demographic of 14-25 year-olds.

Scott Gerber founded the Young Entrepreneurial Council (YEC), an invitation-only membership organization with 1,600+ vetted entrepreneurs from companies collectively generating $13 billion in revenue with $9 billion in venture capital backing. The organization maintains exceptional 90%+ annual retention by focusing on highly personalized, human-centric member experiences including curated networking, quarterly check-ins, and proactive value delivery rather than growth-hacking metrics.

Justin and Tara Williams built 8 Minute Millionaire, an education platform teaching real estate investment and business building, after achieving $4.5 million in net real estate profits over four years. Their online education business, launched two years prior to this interview, rapidly accelerated in the last three months with $85,000, $125,000, and then $500,000 in revenue from newly launched high-end coaching programs ($25,000 per program with 20 slots). They leverage their podcast and existing audience to drive growth while maintaining time efficiency through delegation.

Mark Podolsky is known as "The Land Geek" and is a leading authority on buying and selling raw, undeveloped land in the United States. Since 2001, he has completed over 5,000 unique transactions and generates over $20,000 per month in passive income through owner-financed deals. His business model uses direct mail to find distressed property owners, purchases land at steep discounts (often 20-30 cents on the dollar), and either flips them wholesale or finances them to buyers at 12.7% interest, creating recurring monthly revenue streams.

Yannick Silver is a serial entrepreneur who bootstrapped seven businesses to seven figures and is now building Maverick 1000, a peer-to-peer member-driven organization of 120+ game-changing entrepreneurs paying $1,500/month ($150/month of which goes to impact initiatives). The group has deployed over $2 million in impact funds while generating $1.8M+ ARR, combining business growth, experiential retreats, and social impact through a carefully curated ecoverse of entrepreneurs.

Mizzen+Main is a performance fabric dress shirt brand founded by Kevin Lovell in July 2012. Starting with 20 shirts sold on day one to friends and family, the company has grown 4-5x year-over-year and sold 100,000+ units. The company commits to American manufacturing and employs veterans, maintaining premium positioning by never discounting products.

The Art of Charm is a personal development school and podcast network founded by Jordan Harbinger, a former Wall Street lawyer. The company operates a residential 5-day in-person training program in LA teaching advanced social skills and networking to military special forces, intelligence agents, and high-end sales professionals, charging $6,000-$8,000 per person. With 2 million monthly podcast downloads and a wait list booked 6 months in advance (serving 8 clients per week at ~$64k weekly revenue from live programs alone), plus seven-figure revenue streams from podcast advertising and online courses, The Art of Charm has grown into a multi-seven-figure business over 8.5 years.

Siobhan Moran founded Energetic Solutions Incorporated Success Systems 15 years ago to teach entrepreneurs and leaders how to unlock their internal technology through authentic energetic principles and practical techniques. She generates revenue through multiple streams including live events (priced at $997), masterminds, group coaching, and one-on-one coaching, reaching over 15,000 people. In 2015, she generated $1.2M in revenue from a 10-person team and aims to scale to $10M by focusing on her unique positioning in helping people align their energy with success.

Ray Edwards is a bestselling author and communication strategist who transitioned from freelance copywriting to building a scalable online education business. His 2015 revenue reached $678,000, with a single course launch generating $400,000 in one month through his email list and affiliate partnerships. He commands $150,000+ fees for copywriting projects and is launching a new book with a free+shipping model to drive course sales.

Regan Hillier built a 100% online personal development and coaching business focused on success mindset and personal branding, generating $140K in February 2016 with 91% retention across multiple product tiers. Her funnel strategy moves customers from low-end membership sites ($97/month, ~200 members) through online programs and live masterminds to high-ticket one-on-one coaching ($10-30K per client), with consistent revenue distribution across all products.

Ryan Moran acquired the premium domain Capitalism.com for $100,000 to rebrand his Freedom Fastlane personal brand into a more authoritative business platform. As of March 2016, he was generating approximately $1 million per month in top-line revenue across multiple streams: a coaching/incubator program called "The Tribe" ($250k/month from ~200 members), physical product sales on Amazon ($750k/month primarily from fish oil and supplements with 75% of total revenue), passive income from a yoga business sale (~$5k/month), and real estate holdings. His primary growth channels include content marketing through his podcast and email broadcasts, organic Amazon search rankings, and a high-end annual conference that serves as a branding and networking play.

Doorman is an on-demand package delivery service founded by Xander Adel, a former Pixar technical director, that solves last-mile delivery problems by allowing customers to schedule package arrivals at convenient evening hours (6 PM to midnight). By 2016, the company had raised over $3 million, built a team of 10, and delivered over 100,000 packages across three markets (San Francisco, Chicago, and New York) with both direct-to-consumer and retail partnership models.

Tiger Prop is a residential real estate brokerage founded by Max Corsi that disrupts the traditional model by rebating 20% of commissions back to buyers and standardizing professional photography/videography for all listings. Launched 2.5 years before this interview with ~$200-250k first-year revenue, the company grew 100% year-over-year to $800k in 2015 with 25 agents, while also opening a co-working space with gallery and coffee shop at their downtown Boise headquarters.